All About Eve: 1950

Back in 2009 when I was taking a film class in grad school, I watched All About Eve, but it wasn't because the film was one of those we were require to watch. I watched it because all my course reading kept referring to the film, and I quickly realized that if I was going to make any sense of the content of the course, I would need to watch All About Eve, and I remember that I wasn't disappointed at all with watching it. And a re-watching wasn't a hardship.

At its most basic level, All About Eve is a film about karma, or to use the cliche, "what goes around comes around." The story focuses on Margo Channing, a 40-year-old stage actress adored by her fans and friends. Margo is, without a doubt, a diva at the prime of her career, but she is plagued with the thought of growing older. Typically, Margo portrays twenty-somethings on stage, and she recognizes that her career may end at any time. Her insecurity about her age becomes almost destructive after she takes in Eve, a woman who claims to be Margo's biggest fan and who has a sob story that causes the other people in the story to initially take her side in every situation. In the end, Eve turn outs to be quite a con artist, and Margo learns what really matters in her life. But the best part of the film is closing scene. I'm not going to discuss it here; you really just have to watch the entire film to understand just how powerful the closing scene is.

What I like most about All About Eve is Margo's transformation. In the beginning of the film, I didn't really like her. She seemed self-centered and a bit shallow, but as the film progresses and the audience learns more about Margo, I realized that she is really just insecure and actually values her friends. She becomes almost endearing, but even with that change, she still remains quick-witted and sassy. One cause for her transformation is her boyfriend Bill; no matter what she says or does and regardless of him being eight years younger, he remains utterly devoted to her. That's not to say that he doesn't challenge her. He fights with her and requires her to move beyond her fear to be with him. I wonder if Margo's fear isn't so much age as it is an unwillingness to trust her heart to him. She doesn't seem to have any family, and while she has friends, she only seems to fully reveal herself to Karen and possibly Bertie, her no-nonsense assistant. For everyone else, it's Margo the star. But as Eve rises to fame and betrays Margo, we finally see Margo let Bill in and allow herself to depend on him. At the same time, Margo retains her independence.

Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis

Source: https://theroadshowversion.wordpress.com/category/all-about-eve-1950/

If you're not interested in investing the 138 minutes it takes to watch All About Eve, then I suggest The Simpsons parody of the film where Lisa steals Krusty's show and becomes addicted to applause.